environmental and green business copywriting

Find the happy people

Sometimes, people who are really serious about protecting the environment have similar qualities. One of those qualities is, well, sort of the opposite of happy.

In surveys, people view happy people as being less serious, even a little spacey and shallow.

So, it follows that to be taken seriously, you should show people just how unhappy you are. Somehow that shows that you care, on a really deep level, about the environmental catastrophes that surround us.

But author of The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin proves otherwise.

Happiness Makes the World Go Round

In the Interview section of her book, Ms. Rubin was asked: “Did it ever occur to you that spending so much time working on your own personal happiness was, well, selfish and self-centered?”

She responded yes and yes. But…

But it turns out that happier people are more likely to help other people, they’re more interested in social problems, they do more volunteer work, and they contribute more to charity. They’re less preoccupied with their personal problems. They’re friendlier. They make better leaders.

By contrast, less-happy people are more apt to be defensive, isolated, and self-absorbed, and, unfortunately, their negative moods are catching (technical name: emotional contagion).

So, working on your own happiness is actually the opposite of selfish and self-centered after all.

How Happy Environmental Supporters Can Help You

As usual, when stumbling upon a fun piece of trivia like this, I totally geeked out and instantly related this sentiment to environmental communication.

Let’s go over the high points of Ms. Rubin’s argument:

Happy people are more likely to help others

Happy people are more interested in social problems

Happy people do more volunteer work

Happy people contribute more to charity

And those are just the ones that could be directly related to joining in your environmental crusade! But there’s more…

Happy people are less focused on their own problems (leaving room for caring about other issues)

Happy people are friendlier

Happy people make better leaders (who among us could use a volunteer coordinator or lead on a beach cleanup project!?)

Seek Out the Happy People, and You’ll Find the Right Donors, Volunteers, and Supporters

When you’re doing your environmental marketing, do whatever it takes to speak directly to the people who find real joy in their world. Craft your materials to speak to people who are happy, upbeat, and interested in what you have to say, and not because it will only prove their gloom-and-doom attitude, but because they think they can help.

Those happy people are more likely to listen to you, and truly believe that volunteering their time or donating their money to your cause will make a difference.

Internally, look for the same people when you’re hiring. They’ll be better foot soldiers, but more importantly, they’ll also make better leaders.